Blind Colors
by No Wasted Words
Summary: Sight is overrated, but feelings are not so easily evaluated.


Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender... *Overcome with sadness*

Blind Colors

Darkness. It's something Toph had experienced all her life, and would, without a doubt continue experiencing. "What are colors?" She would ask herself this countless times as a child, and Toph found herself asking it again at 17 in this bustling crowd of people. Toph heard this word so many today, which is completely reasonable because today was the beginning one of the biggest festivals in the Fire kingdom. Today was the start of Fire Lily Festival when these special vibrant flowers only bloomed for a couple weeks a year. The heat wrapped itself around Toph's body making her sweat roll slowly down her temple, from beside her she heard "Look at the flower, it's so beautiful. The **colors** have burst forth with a mighty passion." That word began to engrave itself into her mind, her face began to turn as red as the flowers themselves. As she stared ahead she paid no attention as the man was swept off his feet by the sudden rock pillar that in his words"Burst forth with a mighty passion" right out of the ground. She huffed angrily as she began to hear loud popping sounds and the spectators commenting on how **colorful** the fireworks are. She stomped away angrily. She didn't even know where she was going, but her feet were guiding her and that was enough.

Sokka pretended he hadn't noticed when Toph blasted that guy into the sky. He pretended he hadn't noticed how Toph twitched, or dragged her feet in a rage filled mood every time someone said " **Colors** , or **Colored** , or **Colorful**." But Sokka stopped pretending not to notice when she disappeared from his side with nothing said, not even a whisper. He did see her raven hair as she fled into the forest; her safe haven, which hid rocks among its shadows. He left Katara and Aang it be lost in the thick sea of people, as he chased after her in the dim and fading light. Only Katara had noticed his and Toph's vanishing act, and she smiled slightly watching her boyfriend "ooh" and "ahh" at the fireworks.

Sokka had been less than graceful when trudging through the thick underbrush. His hand cut from the thorns that protected the plants. They scratched, and marred his tan face from the low lying branches. Yet he pushed onward because he knew that Toph needed him. Toph stood still, her breath paced evenly, she dug her feet into the soft dirt. She let the earth flow through veins, it filled her being and overpower her mind. The night grew silent and still. Her feet moved swiftly; in languid, elegant movements, it was as if she was performing an intricate dance created butterflies. A circle of rocks floated around her, one rock levitated towards Toph and came to a stop in front of her shielded, teal eyes. Why can't I see you?" Toph uttered quietly her voice could have been carried away by the wind. She stroked the sea green stone with her pale, ivory hands. But in an instant everything came crashing down, she gripped the small stone and threw it down violently. The collided harshly with the dirt making a loud thud. She fell to her knees with a sob, and the darkness resumed it's never changing ballad as it had sung the night before, and every night before that.

Sokka watched in awe, no word could be spoken not he wanted them to be. He watched the lavish steps of her graceful dance, he was mesmerized by the way she looked in the light of the extravagant fireworks. Though her back was obscuring his view of the face but he imagined the way the colors bounced off and reflected off her milky seafoam orbs. Her posture was impeccable, her creamy skin was peeking out from the traditional Fire Nation robeing. Sokka just stood there, his blue hues followed the pattern of the rocks. He listened to Toph's whisper of a question, as she ghosted her fingertips over the small rock he had presented to her when he had first met her as a peacemaking gift. He saw as her anger overflow until she could not contain it in herself, with a crash the beautiful scene was destroyed. She fell like an angel from heaven with a heart-wrenching cry.

He walked silently; being careful not to trip over the different sized rocks, he saw Toph's petite body stiffen. He sat down next to Toph and laid his hand on a part of her exposed shoulder. She felt the warm instantly and little by little she began to feel less alone. She closed her eyes to create a physical barrier to stop the tears from falling. He began to rub small circles up and down her clothed back. She maneuvered away from him until she was completely out of his reach. But Sokka was not about to let Toph put up her emotional wall again. So he pulled her into his embrace, though she struggled he kept a firm grip. Eventually, she stopped struggling and went limp in his strong arms and just sat in his lap. Toph sat motionless with a blank look on her face, her eyes had a stonewall echoing through them. Minutes passed like hours, and days and years. Finally, Sokka turned her to face him, she zoned out for a moment as if trying to assess how much he had witnessed of her breakdown and if it was necessary to kill him. She concluded that his knowledge of her was too much, "I'm going to have to kill, you know." Sokka laugh lightly, but she looked dead serious (No pun intended). "Okay, at least I'll die seeing you pretty face." He said ruffling her hair but soon began to stroke it, surprised at the silkiness of her locks. She leaned away from his hand. Sokka just sighed and turned his face away. He had always been peeved by the fact that she never shared personal problems, or her feelings even when he shared his state of mind first. She seldom showed her vulnerability, and when she did it would dissipate within moments. Rage began to bubble under Sokka's skin, but he held back because he knew the Toph was emotionally fragile.

He felt a weight began to lift, physically. He glanced up to see Toph getting up, with one fast movement he pulled her instantly back into his lap. She narrowed her eyes violently. "What do you think you're doing?" She earth bent a rock that smacked against his back, he winced slightly and effectively making her smirk. "Going back to the festival." She moved to try and get up again but was again abruptly pulled back down. She groaned loudly, but he hugged her tightly so she could not move at all "No, you're not." She began to pound on his back, "Fine, we'll talk about whatever you want! Just let go of me!" He sighed, and reluctantly released her. She got up and plopped down beside him. "What do you so desperately need to know that you hold me against my will with your big bear arms," Toph spoke in an agitated tone. "Why were you crying?" "So how's Suki doing?" The girl's name sprinkled with a bitter timbre. "I haven't actually seen her for a couple of months." Toph raised her eyebrow. "Oh? Trouble in paradise?"

It had been about four years since Aang became Avatar, and Sokka had matured physically and emotionally. Sokka had grown a bit of muscle, he had as so grown a lot taller. He had grown out of his childish ways and used sarcasm less but ate double the meat. He had grown as a person in a whole, he learned to be a leader, he focused on enhancing his strategic ability. But as his sister withdrew from his protective hold and into Aang's, he needed to project it elsewhere. So that's what he did, he applied his possessiveness onto the next female he was emotionally attached to; Toph. She didn't seem to mind as long as he didn't get in her way, give her the quiet time she wanted or latch on to her physically. He even began to temporarily live with her when he felt necessary.

"Why were you crying?" The teenager girl dodged the question "So how's Suki doing?" The girl's name sprinkled with a bitter timbre. "I haven't actually seen her for a couple of months." Toph raised her eyebrow. "Oh? Trouble in paradise?" He had been having many issues with Suki lately and he had been contemplating breaking it off with her, but Sokka wasn't about to let her change the subject. "Toph, why were you crying?" She played it cool, "Some dirt got in my eyes when I was earthbending." She spoke with a nonchalant tone, but he could hear the thinness of her words. "That's a lie." He huffed loudly. "So?" He just stared at her. "You said we would talk about whatever I wanted." He whined and his shoulders slumped. "I said we would talk about whatever you wanted, I never said I would tell you the truth." She stuck her tongue out for just a moment, but it was caught in between to tan fingers. "Watch your tongue." He smirked before letting go, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open slightly. She finally replied with, "I see you charms haven't changed, but you have gotten faster since we last saw each other." Toph could still taste his fingers on her tongue, they were sweet. _Probably from all the sweets he has been eating at the festival_ , she concluded. "You haven't formally answered my question." He said, she just stared straight ahead. "Why do you need to know?" She asked her anger and annoyance beginning to shine through more prominently. "Because I am concerned, and I want to help." She seemed to contemplate his answer for a moment. "You can't help me. And even if you could, I don't want you to." She began to get up, she started to walk away. Sokka rapidly got up and ran after her. He grabbed her wrist, she thrashed angrily. "Sokka, Let me go." The harsh words left her lips, and he knew that her final wall was going up. He pushed her into one of the many trees that surrounded them. "No Toph, you listen to me. Why can't you just let me help you!" His words were stern at first, but they escalated into rage-filled shouting. "Because you can't! Because you just wouldn't understand how it feels to just want one thing, but it's the one thing you will never be able to have!" She screamed, he felt the weight of words. "Yes, yes I do…" He stopped caging her in between the tree and his body.

He handed her the stone she had thrown earlier, it almost felt weightless. "Do you know why I gave you that stone?" She just shook her head and turned to the direction his voice was coming from. "I gave it to you because it was the color of your eyes." She touched her cheek right under her eyes. "And because it reminded me of someone I loved, the stone was from a place that was sacred to her. After I lost her all I wanted was to get her back. But I couldn't because no matter how much I wanted her to come back, I knew it wasn't possible. I had to let go. When I met you, you gave me hope to let go. So I gave the stone to someone I loved, just like she gave it me." He watched her fiddle with the stone. "I love you too." She said a light blush dusting her pale face. "I mean, I have a platonic love for you." She corrected, "Not like in love… Or something like that." He smiled as she stumbled over her words. He couldn't help but feel the little pang of sadness, but he brushed it away quickly.

"Sokka?" She asked after a long while. "Yes, Toph?" He grabbed her hand and was pleasantly surprised when she didn't even try to pull her hand away. "What is color?" He thought for a little while. "It's not so much as "What is it", it's more like "What does it make you feel". Trust me when I say; you don't need to see to understand how something makes you feel." His tone held an unidentified emotion. She nodded and seemed satisfied with his answer. He rubbed circles with his thumb over the soft skin of her hand. She made a small hum of pleasure before saying, "Guess we should get back." "Ya, I guess." He whispered back. They began to walk towards the sound of lively music. "So where did you learn that technique from?" His voice said throughout the darkness. "Huh? Oh, it's a relaxing meditation form that Aang taught me." Pride evident in her voice. "Guess that's why you actually looked like you knew what you're doing for once." She elbowed him. Their laughs filled the air in the forest, and for a moment it almost seemed like the Moon laughed along with them.

The End.


End file.
